The Heart in the Darkness
by Maga Valkyria
Summary: [AU] His life was not a fairy tale, the promise of a happy ending was black humor, his life was the bad luck incarnated. When silence and darkness consumed his senses, he thought everything was finally over and he would be at peace ... until Amy Rose decided to set a foot in his world.
1. Prologue

**The Heart in the Darkness  
**

* * *

_Prologue  
_

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_'This is stupid...'_

Those were the words that crossed the black hedgehog's mind as his crimson eyes watched the fields and trees that stretched along the road, bathed in the dark of the night and the lights of the poles set along the road. A bored expression was marked in his dark features as he looked through the window, sitting in the back seat of his father's red van, looking forward to this ridiculous _plan of__ a happy family trip _to get over as soon as possible.

"_A weekend of fun and relaxation in Emerald Coast will sooth your moods, you will talk calmly about your problems and restore your bonds as a family." _Said the Dr. Williams, the family therapist, with that stupid smile and those abnormally-thick glasses.

'_Bullshit_...' he thought now and when he first heard that "advice". Nothing could fix this...

His hand tightened its grip on his MP3 player as he slammed his thumb on the "+" button to the point of feeling a slight crack of the hard plastic, for the rock song that filled his ears will cover the new yells and angry dialogue of his _parents_.

He didn't need to divert his attention from the landscape to know that the man driving the van was screaming and complaining about God knows what while his wife, who was in the passenger seat, using the same tone of voice was contradicting whatever he was saying. As far as he could remember, the black hedgehog saw that conflict situation as something _normal_, the two adults who raised him since he was born have _couple problems_, from time to time they discussed and argued while he was locked in his own world, but well aware that their relationship was severely damaged and a new fissure appeared with each discussion. How have they stayed together after so many years of fights? He didn't understand.

No matter what that Dr. Williams said, there was no _love _there to fix.

When the song ended, during the two seconds that it took the device to move to the next song he could hear his name being mentioned with hatred by the man. The black hedgehog ignored him; he was used to it, his ears just moved slightly when he recognized the next song as one of his favorites.

If they did not _want_ him, there was a _solution _at one time, he wasn't the one to blame, they decided to live this charade with free will. In his private meetings with the therapist he had told him to remain calm and strong, that none of this was his fault, that his parents were going through a phase and pretty soon they would be a _happy family._

And did he care to hear all those lies? _Nope_.

He hated their hypocrisy. He hated this life.

"... I'm talking to you." He heard the woman say when the song ended.

He looked at her with a face void of emotion, noticing the dark circles under her eyes, the sadness and fatigue in her features combined with a sweet but fake smile.

She was about to say something and he paused his MP3 to hear her, but his attention was immediately diverted to the front, his ruby eyes widened in surprise while his body froze when an intense white light came through the windshield, the sound of wheels screeching on the pavement broke the silence, he heard his father screaming profanities while frantically turned the steering wheel, the woman screamed as the van turned to the left, giving the oncoming truck the perfect angle for crash them brutally.

The screams of agony drowned between the sounds of metal crunching and glass exploding. The van stumbled violently leaving large black scratches on the floor until it stopped at the side of the road, colliding and bending a lamppost whose light was releasing sparks and turning on and off intermittently.

The recklessness and arrogance prevented the seatbelts to protect their lives.

The screams were gradually silenced while the red color of the van mixed with the red of the blood.

He opened his crimson eyes encountering the night sky, the stars shining around the moon. How come he ended in the middle of the road? He could feel the hard concrete behind his head and back, not the comfortable leather of the van's seat. He tried to move but a terrible pain paralyzed him, making him close his eyes and grit his teeth as a growl emanated from his throat. He opened his mouth to say something; he wanted to yell at his parents, call for help, ask someone to make the pain go away, _anything_... but when he felt the metallic flavor of the blood move between his tongue and fangs, his voice vanished.

He raised his hand to his eyes, blood and dirt stained his white glove while some parts were torn exposing deep wounds on his black fur. _His blood_. He could also feel it moving in warm streams between his rebellious black quills and around his back like a morbid blanket. He dropped his hand as his eyes lifted to the sky, sniffing the smell of gasoline and burnt metal in the air as the frozen weather and pain slowly consumed his energy.

_So... This is it... _He allowed himself a sarcastic smile.

How ironic, this family trip _did calm_ their moods and erased their problems. He was _free_ now.

The burning pain in his body became a numbing sensation as the darkness claimed his mind.

Looking at the stars for the last time, the black hedgehog closed his eyes to never open them again.

* * *

_ShadAmy time! Yai! Before I continue, I apologize for the lack of good english, english is not my native lenguage, I live in Argentina so spanish everyone? This story is originally in spanish under this same account, I used Google to translate it and fixed the words I knew were wrong, but there are still some I have my doubts there are actually right so, I'm sorry and don't think twice about telling me, because I also can learn that way._

_So about the story, don't worry, this is just the beggining, there is more to come and Amy of course! Hope you liked it!_

_**Disclaimer**: I own nothing. - tears -_


	2. The Rose of the Spring

**The Heart in the Darkness  
**

* * *

_Chapter One - The Rose of the Spring  
_

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By listening to the sudden beam of pop music coming from her radio, the pink hedgehog knew it was already seven o'clock.

_Time to get ready for school._

Her eyelids slowly opened revealing two bright emerald eyes and soon a yawn escaped her lips. Sitting on her bed she rubbed her eyes trying to wake up. She dropped her arms lazily on her lap and her eyes closed again, too tired to do anything and wanting to continue her sweets dreams. She had stayed up late studying for the chemistry exam in her third class today, her notebook and some sheets of papers written with different equations were scattered on her desk, most ones unsolved and with smudges.

She sighed at the memory. She was sure she would fail this exam and receive another lecture from her mother.

Chemistry was _not_ her thing, much less her favorite subject. Is not like she was a dumb... _Of course not!_ _Amy Rose_ _was not a dummy_! She understood perfectly the theoretical concepts and always got good grades in that regard, but when it comes about solving equations or to combine the elements, the pink hedgehog was lost in a maze of calculations, meaningless rules and scribbled sheets. _It was so frustrating!_ No matter how many times she did the same equation, the results were always different and incorrect. Her friends had offered to help her, but she refused, she didn't want to waste their time educating her clumsy brain.

Is not like she didn't try! Is that... that... It was _his fault_! Yes! Because of _him_! Since _he_ entered her school last year all her concentration was sucked to his charms and not the teacher's explanations, so it was perfectly _normal_ for her to be distracted and lost on some explanations and texts from the book, right? She sighed again, she needed to look for a tutor quick or she would fail the subject, _which was not cool at all!._ Sometimes being _in love_ caused her a lot of problems...

When the announcer's voice coming out of the radio that was on her nightstand announced which song was next, the she-hog smiled and closed her eyes and extended her hand towards the volume button, elevating it to ensure that her favorite song filled the room, suddenly the music was echoing in the walls along with her humming.

With fresh optimism, she stretched her arms and patted her cheeks, she opened her eyes and smiling, she pulled the covers aside ready to start the day. She sat on the edge of the bed and her feet searched for her slippers that matched her pink pajamas, once set she went to the window. She opened the curtains letting the sunlight enter the room making her to close her eyes instantly, but smiled when she felt the warm. She opened the windows and a cool breeze blew moving her already messy pink quills, once accustomed to the light of dawn, she looked out the window and breathed happily while watching the neighborhood.

The first morning of spring had come with clear blue skies, radiant sunshine and cute cherry blossom trees decorating the streets. The warm sunlight sent away the chill of the night and make shine the dewdrops on the grass and plants, butterflies were dancing among the flowers while the birds were singing in the trees.

She loved the spring, it was her favorite season. Everything was bright and colorful, like a fairy tale. She looked down at the pot of red and white roses that rested below her window and her smile widened when she saw that some buds had become large and beautiful roses. Excited, she gently stroked the petals admiring its beauty. Carefully, she put her nose into the flowers and inhaled deeply, the sweet scent make her smile of joy. _It was perfect._

Now full of energy, she began to get ready to go to school, she went to her closet and pulled out a red towel, then she went to the bathroom, quickly took off her pajamas and took a shower that cooled her, when finished she wrapped the towel around herself, washed her teeth and ran back to her room to get dressed in her school uniform: a traditional black sailor shirt, the neck and the edge of the sleeves had white lines, a red bow was adorning the center and combining it, there was a white skirt with black lines, on her feet she wore her favorite dark blue boots, a gift that her father had given her at the start of the year.

Next she continued with the most difficult task: fixing her hair and quills. She took a deep breath and started her daily battle. She sat at her vanity table facing the mirror with determination, with a hair dryer in one hand and a brush in the other she began to work, lowering the rebel fur and giving a lovely curved appearance to her quills that framed her face. Seeing nothing out of place, the hedgehog nodded in approval and put a red headband on top, smiling, she got up and went to collect her notes from the desk. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips when she saw the mess of paper and pencils. At least she expected to get a C...

She hung her pink backpack over her shoulder and walked out of her room. When she entered the kitchen she was met with the lonely atmosphere that had welcomed her in the last three days. In the answering machine was still recorded a message from her mother, saying that her business agenda got a little complicated and she would stay in Station Square for another week, that she was sorry and that as always, she locked herself in the house after school. Yes, she would have dinner alone again...

Since they moved to Westopolis two years ago, after long the divorce, the pink hedgehog and her mother lived at this house in the suburbs, her mother got a job as an executive secretary at a major company in the city and her agenda was always full of meetings and conferences that she has to attend since her supervisor was the owner of the company himself. She just sees her on Sundays, a few hours during the week when she was not working late, and kept in constant contact by phone calls and text messages.

It didn't bothered her the fact of being alone, she was used to it and had learned to be independent, she thanked her mother for all the hard work she did to pay the bills and her education, Amy felt that he had no right to complaint, even when she was mad at her she felt guilty the next second. But she couldn't help but feel lonely, sometimes her friends stayed with her after school and she was more than grateful too, but the affection of her friends could not replace her mother's. _No matter how well she lied to herself..._

Shaking her head and with a smile, she decided to continue her routine before it gets late, leaving her backpack in a chair, she prepared a bowl of cereal and milk. She went to the living room and sat on the couch with the breakfast in her hands, she turned on the television and swapped channels looking for something that would capture her interest, finding nothing she opted for the music channel, which showed several videos of various artists, watching the bizarre costumes and funny choreographies, she finished breakfast. She put the bowl in the sink and taking her bag and keys, she left the house closing the door behind her.

The cool weather welcomed her moving her bangs and she couldn't help but let out a giggle as she walked to the bus stop. When she arrived she sat on the bench, pulled out her iPod and let the music invade her senses while waiting for the public transport. No more than ten minutes passed when her bus arrived. Dedicating a smiling good morning to the driver who replied with an indifferent stare the hedgehog paid her ticket and sat in one of the single seats by the window.

Putting her iPod in the backpack, the pink hedgehog sighed and pulled out her chemistry book, deciding to have one last look and trying, again, to understand in twenty minutes the formulas that she had been tried to learn during the past week. Her eyes narrowed and her smile became a grimace as she read the texts she had remarked last night along with some handwritten notes that Blaze, one of her companions and a genius in the subject, had written to help her. A growl of frustration was heard while she re-read everything. _She was seriously considering the idea of faking a cold if she didn't get this right!_

When she noticed that the bus stop that was near her school was approaching, she got up and dividing her attention on where she stepped and her book, she went to the door, rang the bell announcing the driver that was her turn to get off, a couple of streets later the vehicle stopped opening its doors so that she and other passengers would get off. The last step was jumped down while her hands clutched her book against her chest, during the rest of the way she continued reading that hated science.

Emerald High School soon showed up with its long two-story structure and the pink hedgehog smiled to see the cherry blossoms gently fall from the trees with every breeze of the wind, pink was bathing the campus while parents and students entered the building or were talking with each other. The hedge-girl giggled and ran inside the school when the first bell rang calling students to class. Upon entering the building she changed her shoes in the lobby and continued the path to her classroom, Literature was her first class of the day and she thanked God that she would have a few minutes extra to study before the test.

She climbed the stairs and headed for the hallway where her classroom and the lockers were, there she noticed a familiar white bat with blue eyes and short hair, wearing the same uniform and her face had a perfectly set make up with blue shadow in her eyes and a soft pink color on her lips. Her name was Rouge The Bat, she was a senior and although they were not the best of friends, they shared a taste for fashion and sometimes went shopping at the mall during the weekends. She heard the bat was engaged in a heated discussion by cell phone, that confused her at first but when at hearing her particular insult '_Knucklehead'_, she smiled.

"Hey Rouge." Greeted the pink hedgehog getting the attention of the bat, which immediately turned to her and smiled for a moment before her lips made a scowl and her eyes rolled when she heard how the person on the other side of the line continued with his complaints and insults that the pink hedgehog could hear perfectly.

"Yeah, whatever, but…_Ugh!_ Can we talk about this later? Thank you~!" Her sweet voice said as she ended the call, Amy could swear she heard a growl from the phone before the bat ended the communication. "Hey _Pinky,_ how was your weekend?" the bat asked with a smirk, like nothing happened and the previous discussion was fiction.

"Um, I cleaned my house a little and studied for the chemistry exam I have today." she said as she glared at the book in her arms.

"Woah, you need to get out more dear, that's not fun." Rouge said shaking her index finger and a grinning.

"Well, if I want to be accepted in the Elite Star University I have to improve my grades in chemistry!" she exclaimed brightly.

The bat rolled her eyes annoyed at her _nerd_ attitude. She liked the pink hedge-girl but sometimes she couldn't stand her

"Honey, you're fifteen years old, relax and have some fun, ok? You can't have perfect grades in _everything_, don't stress yourself so much over that, besides, just wanting to go to an university that is in another city just because Sonic will go there doesn't mean-"

"What! N-no no, Sonic has nothing to do with it!" Amy replied nervously as her cheeks flushed.

The bat cocked an eyebrow and grinned at how the pink girl got all nervous so suddenly. _Of course_, that was the reason, or at least the most important one of the many she could have. Amy Rose have a crush on Sonic the Hedgehog, a blue furred hedgehog with green eyes, handsome, star runner on the track team and of course, one of the most popular guys in school. The pink hedgehog had mixed feelings for the _blue lightning_ since she was twelve and always denied it when the subject was even mentioned.

"Whatever Pinky, but lie a little better next time." She said with a wink.

In response Amy's cheeks puffed and reddened more. Rouge chuckled and was about to add more fuel to the pink fire when her cell phone started ringing indicating a new call, for the song playing the bat knew _who_ was calling, she exhaled heavily before take out her phone, press the button to directly reject the call and turn off the phone, smiling evily.

"Is it...?" Amy asked pointing to the bag where the bat just put the phone.

"Yes, he's driving me crazy, I don't want to talk about it." she Interrupted her waving her hand. "Don't you have to go to class?"

"Oh, yes."Amy turned to her locker, she put the books and notebooks she wouldn't need and shut the metal gate, then she noticed that Rouge was still in there, leaning against another locker as she looked toward the stairs. "You're not going to class, Rouge?"

"No, I'm waiting for Espio." She answered while looked at the new group of students that climbed the stairs.

"Espio?" asked Amy. She knew Espio, he was a purple chameleon with golden eyes, good student, respectful and very serious.

"Yes, I have science class in the lab today and he is my partner, he told me he would be a little late so I decided to wait for him."

"Huh? But ... Aren't you and Knuckles partners in science always?" Amy frowned.

"Yep." The bat nodded with fake innocence.

"And you and he are not...?" she half asked unable to put a name to the _relationship_ Rouge had with the _red boy_...

"Yep." she answered again without breaking her act.

"I know you guys are in a fight right now, but seeing you with Espio just won't make him angrier?" Amy asked confused.

The bat's response was a smirk.

"Exactly." she said finally looking her in the eye.

Amy tilted her head to one side thinking how evil her _senpai_ looked right now.

"Don't look at me like I'm doing something illegal" she said while she crossed her arms over her chest. "Espio had no one to do the two-person project requested by the teacher, is not my problem if that knucklehead decided to oversleep the day the teacher announced the assignment, I offered my help to Espio and now we are a team, so I'm just waiting for my partner to go together to the lab, I'm just being polite." she declared with that vile smile painted on her lips. Of course that can't be all…

"But you seem to enjoy it..."Amy countered, crossing her arms and smiling too.

Rouge was an open book when it came about the red echidna named Knuckles, a bad-tempered boy who was also a senior, had average grades, a good athlete and a brute with words, especially when Rouge The Bat was on the stage, from the day she met him the bat found him handsome and charming, but also as a ball of nerves that promised lots of fun if she played with the right spots. She loved seeing those violet eyes shine with rage and jealousy when the name of another man crossed her lips.

_Oh, how she was going to miss him when collage begins._

"Maybe ~" she replied with a wink.

The last bell rang and Amy knew she had to leave.

"Well, see you later Rouge."

"Take care hon." she waved her hand.

Amy responded with the same gesture and made her way to her class, smiling and a little bit jealous of the love / hate relationship that the white bat has with red echidna, although most of the time they spent together they discussed and some fights were full of _bold_ words, you still could find the affection behind every word. She hoped that one day she had a relationship like that with Sonic, well maybe _not exactly _the same, but having that special bond that only you have with that special person. The mere thought made her bring her hands to her flushed cheeks and let out an excited giggle.

When she entered her classroom, some of her companions were in their seats, making a last minute review for chemistry or gathered around a desk talking about their activities during the weekend. Giving and answering some good mornings, the pink hedgehog made her way to her seat. In the second row near the window was her seatmate and friend, Blaze, a purple cat with golden eyes, she was sitting at her desk with her attention fixed on a thick blue-covered book.

"Morning, Blaze." Amy greeted as she put her backpack on her desk.

The cat turned her attention to the pink girl and nodded, smiling warmly.

"Good morning Amy, how are you?"

"Very good, and happy that the winter is finally over." She said stretching her arms and grinning.

"Indeed it is a nice day." agreed the purple cat looking at the sky through the window.

"I can't wait to go out for an ice cream at the park after school!" She said resting her hands on the window. Blaze chuckled.

"First thing first, did you study for the test today?" she asked turning her attention to the pink hedgehog.

Any joy on Amy's face was drained into a frown, her lips together in a pout.

"Yes, but no luck..." she sighed as she scratched her temple with her index finger.

"I told you if you needed help you could come to my house to study." Blaze remarked.

"I know, I know." she muttered impatiently as she let herself drop into the chair across her desk. "But don't worry Blaze, I will pass, I'm sure of it!" she exclaimed, looking at her friend with shining eyes of determination and a raised fist in the air. The cat chuckled and nodded, then returned to her book wanting to read some more before the class started. Seeing that no more words would be coming from the purple cat, Amy turned her attention to her books and fixed them on the table.

She opened the chemistry one and with a pencil she began to write equations on her notebook while reading the texts, trying to put into practice what she had managed to learn and figure out what she did not yet understand. A groan escaped her clenched teeth when she noticed that, again, the chemical elements seemed to mock her when she saw that the results of the equation were completely different to the ones in the book. _Where the heck those neutral things came from?! Gah! She didn't get it!_

Feeling a headache coming out, she left the pen in the middle of the book and closed it, she relaxed against the chair looking at the sky trying to calm down and regain some will to continue. The sound of a whistle twitched her ears and the hedgehog immediately looked down, the windows in her classroom overlooked the courtyard where the sports field was. The boys of the classroom B were having their gym class and the teacher did blow his whistle to make them start running on the marked tracks in groups.

The pink girl blushed noticing a certain blue hedgehog in his gym uniform stretching his muscles as he waited for his teammates to finish. He looked so handsome in any clothes he used and the smile he wore as he waited anxiously for his turn reinforced his natural charm. The blush on her cheeks intensified when Amy noticed that Sonic had caught her looking at him, he looked at her with a raised eyebrow as she smiled nervously and waved her hand awkwardly; to her relief he gave her his particular smile showing her his perfect white teeth and a thumb up before turning his attention to the track.

Sighing happily, Amy smiled and rested her cheeks on her hands as she watched the blue boy running.

_'I'm going to marry that guy...' _she thought and then giggled.

The classroom door opened letting the literature teacher in, all students immediately went to their seats and after a brief greeting, the teacher, a green-eyed brunette echidna, began her class. Amy shook her head and turned her attention to the front, trying to forget that Sonic was a couple of feet away and thinking she didn't need low grades in literature too. She took the novel they had been reading the last weeks, some drastic love story that happened in the middle of a war, the teacher explained some hidden meanings of the plot and so other details, sometimes stopping to read out loud a few paragraphs that served as examples.

When the teacher had her back turned or was writing something on the blackboard, Amy buried her nose into her chemistry book, trying to study for as long as possible before she reached the third hour. However, the attention of the teacher, hers, and the rest of the students were immediately interrupted by a _familiar_ cry of rage coming from the corridor. At once the students began to talk to each other while some got up to open the door wanting to see what all those yells were about, but the teacher told them to sit down and she herself left the room to find out what was happening, leaving the door ajar behind her.

One of the students opened it a little and peeked out along with others students, suddenly there were laughing among them.

"I wonder what happened." Amy said looking towards the students reunited in the door, they seemed to point at something.

"I don't know, but considering the cry, it looks like someone is angry." Blaze said without moving her eyes from her book.

"An…gry?" Amy wondered considering the words of the purple feline, suddenly a drop of sweat ran down her temple when she remembered a certain red echidna with explosive temper, a white bat that enjoyed insane fun and a new science partner that was always passive, but wouldn't stay silent in front of aggression, no matter the source.

Her theory was confirmed when, between the heads of her classmates, she could see a red echidna scowling and walking through the corridor while grunting unintelligible words, accompanied by a purple chameleon with an air of serenity and crossed arms, before them, a teacher was scolding them about fighting in class. Rouge wasn't anywhere but Amy was sure she was the one who had created the conflict by manipulating the truth for her delight. She knew that Knuckles would freak out of jealousy seeing her with Espio and throw one of his rages while the calm chameleon would spat back accurate words, increasing the red rage.

The teacher returned to the classroom and the students immediately ran to their seats.

"Children…" sighed the echidna as she closed the door and continued with the class.

"Looks like Rouge did it again..." Blaze remarked impatiently.

"Blaze, you know?" asked a confused Amy.

"Yes, Espio told me about his new partner and I knew something like this would happen." Blaze hissed in disapproval.

"Oh..." Amy nodded. "But... she just wanted to help Espio..." she said trying not to see _all_ the wrong of what happened.

"That's not an excuse, she knows Knuckles very well, now he and Espio both have a stain in their permanents records and just because that bat is not able to handle a difficult situation with full maturity."Blaze protested with a clear annoyed tone.

Amy was about to say something else but immediately discarded the idea and just nodded, admitting that Blaze's words were right and that the white bat has some _funny_ ways to manage their relationship with the echidna, and keep talking about Rouge with Blaze was not good material either, since they met, Blaze and Rouge had never been on good terms, both were opposite poles and in the rare occasions they were together, ironic comments were heard along with sidelong glances and mocking glares.

Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket and Amy pulled it carefully. She had a new text message from Tikal, a red echidna with blue eyes who was in the second year; she was also Knuckles's younger sister. While reading the message, Amy rolled her eyes in annoyance at the thought of the incoming hurricane of problems.

_'Knuckles has detention 'til 3 p.m, Espio returned to class, my brother says that after school he would 'fix things' with Espio... - Tikal'_

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_Chapter one done! Yai! Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews: **PinkMadame**, **Midnight Alexis Thorn**, **TwilighttheWolf** & **rehannon314**! I hope you liked it ~ This chapter is not much of a Shadamy I know... I wanted to set Amy's story and the somewhat cliffhanger that will lead to the beggining for the shadamy fluffness ~ Again, I apologize if there is some bad spelled english, let me know if there is something so I can fix it an learn a bit more!  
_

_Happy New Year!  
_

_**Disclaimer**: I own nothing. - tears -_


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